The Legend of Silver Phoenix
by Natsumi Firewind
Summary: The Immortals were promised a Human queen, a woman who would make them equals in the sight of others. A woman who would give them a chance at humanity, a chance to be Human, something they secretly coveted. A chance to prove themselves.
1. Legend

The Legend of Silver Phoenix

_Ug, this first part reeks of Pirates of the Caribbean, ug. I was in Biology class when I wrote this, _

_Teacher: 'explain the diff. between incomplete dominance and co-dominance'_

_Overly smart student: 'incomplete dominance is incomplete dominance, like orange hair, the blending of blonde and red.'_

_Class: 'Ooohhh...'_

_Okay, first fic, be nice. Remember to review! Also, does anyone one know why the formatting for italics and stuff worked just fine on my bio but not on this chappie? If anyone knows could they please explain!_

_Ack, enough. Okay, on with the story reeking of PotC. Johnny Depp...****_

           The woman smiled as she laughed at the little girl. The girl was begging for a story. She did this every night, wanted a story, she had been asking for a legend for days. The only legend the woman knew was the one she shouldn't tell the girl. But what was the harm in telling her? It wasn't as if it would apply to the girl. 

"Which one?" The woman asked calmly as she walked toward the bookshelf. 

"A real one." The girl said pine needle colors eyes glinting cheerfully. "A legend." She said, using her new favorite word. 

"A legend?" Her nanny asked in mock surprise.

"Yes, a_ legend_." She said nodding her head; brown sausage curls bouncing energetically around her face. 

"Alright but after this you have to promise to go to sleep." The woman said sternly, knowing she should not tell the child. But the poor girl deserved to know. The girl nodded and flopped down on her stomach. Placing her chin in her hands she watched her nanny expectantly. 

"Alright, a legend you said?" She asked, furrowing her brow. Watching in amusement as the girl rolled around her bed in boredom. "Hmm, okay, _The Legend of Silver Phoenix_."

_           It was decades ago, about the same time as the last of the lady knights that this happened. The time when the immortals and the humans had to fight together. They had both been fighting against the same foe, but they weren't having much success. Sporadic attacks did nothing to the enemy, like bee stings. Uncomfortable, but nothing that couldn't be ignored. This went on for a year, until finally, the Phoenix arrived._

_           She was one of surprising beauty and great power. Her eyes shone like the full moon at night, but by day they were the color of pine needles. Her hair like damp tree bark. Her gift, the color of purest silver._

_           She was able to band the immortals and humans together. And as one, they prevailed. Driving the enemy out to sea and away from their home._

The woman smiled as she finished the short tale.

"There are lady knights today!" The seven year old shrieked. "And our fief's called Silver Phoenix. Does that mean that-" The child began.

"That does not mean that any of that will happen." Her maid chided sternly, surprised the child had been able to connect the dots so easily. "Now, to bed."

           She bolted awake, eyes wild. Her hair stuck to her damp face._ Damn heat_, she thought. She had to focus on breathing,_ just breathe_, she told herself. Leaping out of bed she ran to her bookshelf. She pulled out her diary; flipping it open she pulled out a piece of worn paper. She had written it years ago. 

_Why am I thinking about that now? _She thought_, that was years ago._ She wasn't even sure why she remembered that. Quickly she read through the tale. When she was younger she had written all the stories Martha had told her down. She smiled; Martha had been her governess up until she was nine. The thought of Martha cheered her and banished the wild thoughts of her past from her head. She walked to her window. The city sprawled beneath her, winding streets, clothes blowing in the hot wind. She watched as a stray dog ran down an alley towards her house. It stopped below her window and looked up at her. She smiled warily, the dog barked once and continued down the street. 

Turning back into her room she gasped as she looked at her family's coat of arms. The phoenix was glowing. _It's just the moonlight. Just the moonlight. _She backed up to the window. The phoenix leaped from the metal work and flew towards her. Screaming she took another step back.

The bird hovered in front of her._ "Your destiny awaits." She screamed and tried to take another step backwards, except there was no more room, so she fell out the window instead. She screamed as she fell. _

She bolted out of bed. "Oh. Gods." She gasped. 

Sooo, how was it? This was just a prologue thing, that's why it's so short. Next chapter is longer, I promise.

**_~Natsumi_**


	2. Events Most Unfortunate

**WoundedWings:** Wonderful? YAY for wonderful J 

**Nawat Crow:** lol, I get to take my finals this week on all that biology jazz, ain't it wonderful?

**ME :) **

**BlauWolf:** YAY for intresting!

_ Seccond chappie, YAY! Okay, I've been re-reading all the parts of the books that have immortals in them, and I'm sorry if some of the information is messed up, I'm going to continue to check and re-check the information so if it is wrong I will change it. I think that's all for now, review!_ ****

** Chapter Two: Events that are Most Unkind**

            She gasped as her serving girl threw the covers off of her. 

"What?" She growled, reaching for her blankets even though she was already far to warm in the summer heat. 

"Now, Victoria is that anyway to greet a friend."

Emma gritted her teeth." Emma, not Victoria, Emma." She groaned.

"Victoria is your given name, I will call you by your given name. Now up. We're traveling to Corus today." She said. Emma rolled her eyes. She stood up reluctantly.

"Yes, Miss Almonde, I understand. What shall wear? The blue traveling suit, or the green one?" She asked, opening her wardrobe.

"Neither. I brought you a new one." Emma rolled her eyes. Miss Almonde had appeared after Emma had returned from the convent. Here to make sure Emma behaved, and associated properly while her parents ran around in the Scanran countryside. 

Her parents were ambassadors; really what they did was bribe Scanrans to submit to the king's control. It was interesting, and exciting for her parents. It was really quite annoying for Emma and her siblings though; they hardly ever saw their parents anymore. Now that they were all, "takes care of".  Groaning Emma sat up.

"Alright-" Emma began, placing her feet on the floor and rubbing her temple's a bit. 

"Good." Miss Almonde said grabbing her arm and pulling her, a little less than gently, into her dressing room.  Three dressing maids quickly began shoving her already petite self into a corset.

"A corset? We're traveling!" She cried in objection.

"Miss Almonde said you were to wear it." Lily said with a smirk. Emma rolled her eyes before gasping.

She emerged minutes later with the corset tightly in place, and the annoyingly green outfit on.  Miss Almonde smiled in slight approval before glaring at the maids.

"And where you planning on doing her hair?" She asked, her nose in the air, at the same time Lily emerged with a handful of hairpins.

"A moment is all Miss Almonde." She said while attacking Emma's head. She bit back a gasp as a pin grazed her scalp. Within minutes her elbow length hair was piled neatly on top of her head. Lily took an annoyingly green top hat from a bedside table and placed it on Emma's hair, a moment later secured it with a silver hatpin. 

"Good. Now, finish packing her things. In a half bell we leave." Miss Almonde said before sweeping out the door. Emma took a moment, looking at her reflection in a mirror. She tipped her hat to the side before exiting as well.

Emma groaned as they hit yet another bump in to road, every time the carriage jostled violently the boning in her corset poked into her sides. She was alone, with only a thick book on manners to accompany her. She could hear the yells of the footmen and the occasional whinny of a horse, along with the continual clip clop of the horse's hooves. The carriage stopped violently. Emma groaned. They were stuck, in a mud puddle, _again_. She stood and pulled open a curtained window. 

"What seems to be the problem?" She yelled, a little above the appropriate decibel level of a lady. If Miss Almode had been awake it would have been a week without her gold hairpins. If she had been awake. 

"Stuck is all lady, it'll be just a few moments." Said a mad to her left, a man she was sure hadn't been with them earlier.

"Sir, what did you do with your uniform?" She asked confused as to why one of her footmen would be improperly dressed.

"I never got one lady." He said, a sly grin on his face.

"What? Why ever not?"

"Because lady, I don't serve you."

"What?" She asked, blinking rapidly in the harsh sunlight.  

"Lady, you have blessed us endlessly, and I'm sure you have other blessings under that skirt or yers." He said, stroking her head lustfully. Emma drew back. 

"You sir, are out of line." She said, opening the door, hitting his head and knocking him out. 

She stepped out into utter mayhem. Bandits crawled everywhere going through the trunk loads of furniture and clothing, taking jewelry and anything that would fetch a price. She screamed as a man grabbed her breast and knocked his hand away. "Lovely madam." He said, she screeched and turned and ran the other way. A rider swooped down and grabbed her around her waist, pulling her into his lap.

"What are you doing?" She cried as he landed a sloppy, wet, sucking kiss on her cheek. She felt as though she would retch as he moved to her mouth.  He rode away from the chaotic caravan. He was riding fast but somehow he still was able to smooth his hand over her body. He dumped her in a pile of leaves and clambered down from the horse, Emma was on her feet and running away from him as soon as she hit the ground. The man laughed and chased after her, mumbling about how he loved the feisty ones. Emma felt tears streaming down her face as he chased after her, he dress catching on twigs and brambles, one scratching her arm. She screamed as she fell, sliding down a steep hill. She stumbled back to her feet and continued running, darting in and out between trees. She ran for what seemed like hours but it was really only a few minutes. The man chasing her had long since ceased, Turing to drunken slumber. She finally collapsed near a stream, gasping for air she couldn't seem to inhale. She lay in the mud, panting.

She screamed and scrambled away from a hand that had gently shaken her shoulder, she looked up to see a spandrel. Then she screamed again, running across the stream.

"Are you alright?" It-he asked, kindly.

Emma scrambled for some kind of weapon. "Go away!" She screamed reaching down to grab a small rock. "Shoo!" She said, her hands fumbling with the rock. He feet slid across the muddy base of the stream.  The Centuar looked at her as though she were stupid. "Shoo!" She screamed, her throat scratchy.

"Are you quite sane?" The Centuar asked, looking at her as if she were crazy.  

"Yes, now shoo!" She screamed, gasping afterwards. 

"Are you lost?" He asked, blue eyes glinting.

"No! Maybe! Yes! Go away!" She yelled, screaming as she slipped in the mud and fell in the stream. Strong arms grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. She gasped and sputtered not sure what to do and just wanting to sleep, black spots infiltrated her vision and she fainted.

An awful smell brought her back to the land of the living. The Centuar was waving smelling salts under her nose, his horse parts curled underneath him, his bare torso glistening in the summer heat. She screamed when she recognized him.

"Would you quit doing that? It hurts my ears," he said, rolling her eyes, she merely screamed again. He clamped his hand down over her mouth. "Look, I may be half horse and if you really would like to be left alone in the woods overnight you can keep screaming but if you would like some help I would advise you to shut up and stop treating me like an idiot child and start talking sensibly. Understand?" He asked, glaring at her. She nodded and he took his hand away.

"Now, lets try this again, who are you?" He asked, settling back and taking flint from a leather bag he carried with him.

"Victoria Emmilia of Silver Phoenix." She said, a hint of pride in her voice. He raised an eyebrow.

"Quite a mouthful Miss Victoria Emmilia of the house of Silver Phoenix." He said, laughter hidden behind a tight jaw.

"Just call me Emma. And you, who are you?" She asked, slightly annoyed.

"Ed." He said simply. "Now, Emma, why are you in the middle of the Immortals realm?" He said, naming the region south of Trebond and north of Barony Olau.

"I was going to Corus, but my caravan was attacked by bandits, I got carried away on a horse and then I fell off and got chased this way." She said, a slight frown on her face.

"Don't frown." He said with a smile. "Gives you wrinkles." She smiled, her first real smile in days.

"How far from the road are we?" She asked, looking to the west where the sun was setting. Sunbirds flew up and swirled and reflected the beautiful colors.

" Miles, lovely, aren't they?" He asked, starting a fire.

"Magnificent." She breathed. Absentmindedly her hand went to her ribcage, she was still breathing shallowly. 

"Are you hurt?" He asked, having been watching her actions. "A broken rib perhaps?" His voice was close, intimate almost. She looked at him and smiled, he was beautiful she noticed, even if half of him was furry and had four legs. 

"No, I don't think so. Just having a little trouble breathing is all." She said. He leaned back and eyed her carefully. 

"Turn around." He said and Emma looked at him.

"Pardon?" 

"Turn around." He said again, a smile gracing his lips. Emma smiled and turned around, wondering what he was planning. Deft fingers began loosening the laces on her dress, relieving the pressure a bit. He pulled the back open and then unlaced her corset and moved away, a knowing smile on his face. Emma flopped on to her back. 

"Gods." She breathed inhaling the wonderful thing known to most as oxygen, the dizziness in her head evaporating.

"I never understood why you human females shove yourselves into those things. I would image they're quite painful." He said with a smile, gathering water from the stream. 

"Oh they're painful, but beauty is pain is it not?" She said as she sat up, pulling off her dress and corset, throwing them in a heap next to her. Miss Almonde would have a few things to say about it if she ever found out. Sitting in her petticoats with a man. But he's not a man, he's a Centuar, and it doesn't even seem like he noticed. She thought.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." He quoted, smiling at her. She smiled back.

"I don't get it." She said. "Centuars are supposed to be horrible, supposed to kill people  and roast them for dinner. But I'm sitting here having a perfectly normal conversation." She said, looking at him quizzically. His laughter echoed through the forest, melodic like cascading rain.

"Years ago that would have happened yes. But if we are to live together we cannot be warring against each other, it's just not practical. And we've noted that life is much easier if we just leave your kind alone, it's easier. And the foods bad. You have no idea how bitter you folk taste. Besides," he said with a wink. "It's bad luck to eat the phoenix."

"The phoenix? Whatever do you mean?" She asked, very confused. He smiled.

"You mean you don't know?" He asked kindly. She shook her head. "Well that's interesting." HE said stirring the pot. "That's very interesting. I suppose I shall have to educate you." He said.

"I do not need to be _educated by a man. I do just fine on my own." She said stubbornly. _Educate me; just who does he think he is anyway_? She thought. _

"Forgive me, that was poorly said," he said calmly, Emma was shocked, a man, admitting he was wrong and apologizing was unheard of. "I only meant that I should tell you. 

"Ever heard of the Legend of the silver Phoenix?" He asked her. 

"The one about the girl who unites the immortals and the humans to fight against the empire?" She asked even though she knew.

"That's the one, every person born with the phoenix blood in them has the ability to unite immortals and humans, they just choose not to, and if they chose to do so they would have a hard time of it. Because, mi'dear, to be able to unite immortals and humans you have to have a hidden power, self-assurance. You cannot care about modesty, cannot be prideful or self-righteous. You have to be willing to sacrifice certain things. You must be humble. And you must _earn_ _ their respect. You, Emma, are that chosen one." He said, watching the girl as she absorbed all the information._

"But, do we need to join the two groups together? We've just finished a war. It will be at least five years before another one arises. And their isn't a country strong enough to attack us and cause much damage anyway." She said, looking at him quizzically.

"What country lies above Scanra?" He asked her, she frowned.

"Well, nothing, it would be too far north, too cold for anyone to live there, correct?" She said after thinking for a minute.

"Wrong." He said pulling out leather bound book. He flipped it to a map in the middle. "The Empire is above Scanra. They're brilliant people really. They're so advanced in science, they have so many things that Tortall could learn from them if only the two countries would quit fighting each other. What you should do is negotiate a treaty with them. " He said, pulling two bowls out of his sack.

"But, are they going to invade?" She asked.

"Within the year." He said, matter-of-fact.

"Yea gods." She breathed flopping back onto the forest floor. "So, I should go now. Before they cause too much damage." She said sitting up. "I'll go now." She said, leaping to her feet. "Which ways north?" She asked, spinning in a circle. 

"Settle lass." He breathed, pulling on her skirt, bringing her back to earth. "You can't go now," he said, handing her a bowl of soup. 

"Why not?" she asked, sipping her soup.

"You know nothing about what you would have to do. Nothing about the people, or their culture. It would mean disaster." He said.

"But that is what you would have me do?" She asked, for some reason anxious to hear his answer. 

"Yes, eventually. First I would have you earn the respect of the immortals in this forest though." He said, with that smile.

"I do suppose that makes sense," she said with a smile.

"Yes it does, now, to sleep. Tomorrow I'll take you to the palace." He said with a smile.

"Palace?" She asked confused. Why would he take her to Corus?

"The Immortals palace. Really a neat thing it tis. Now, sleep. You look exhausted." He said, she nodded and didn't see the smiled that crossed his face. 


	3. Trees

**_Trees_**

****

They walked along slowly the next morning. Emma in only her white dressing gown. Her clothing and shoes had been left in a bush, for they only served to annoy her. She saw what looked like a sliver bird up ahead, glancing at Ed she raced ahead, trying to get a better view of the creature.  It flitted back and forth in front of her, as if teasing her.

"Emma!" Ed cried from behind her. "Emma!" He yelled. She turned around to find she could no longer see him. She looked behind her, the bird was watching her from a tree branch.

"I'm right here!" She yelled before tearing off after the bird. "I'm goanna get you." She muttered as she ran. She leapt up into the air, she had it! She smiled as she tumbled to the ground. her momentum rolling her across the ground for several feet. And then it carried her into a tree. She expected pain, as she had been, in a way, watching the tree come closer and closer to her person.  She opened her eyes to find herself  inside a wood cylinder. Then she realized, she was in a tree. She opened her hands to examine the silver critter she had in her hands. It looked as if it was burning, but it didn't hurt her.

"What creature are you, hmm?" She asked it before looking around her circular cage. There seemed to be a set of stairs carved into one side.  She glanced at the silver bird and sighed, _all that work and I have to let it go! _She rolled her eyes and set the bird down on the earthly floor and began climbing.  As she climbed she wondered briefly if the bird was looking up her skirt. She quickly banished the though as it didn't really matter. There was no room for modesty in the immortals forest.  She climbed higher and blinked as her head poked through a canopy of leaves. Smiling she climbed out onto a branch. Scanning the ground beneath her she searched for Ed's horse like build.

"Ed?" She yelled from her treetop. "Ed!" She yelled.

"Emma? Emma!" He yelled. Emma turned around carefully.

"Ed! Hi!" She yelled, looking down at him, hundreds of feet away.

"How in the gods mane did you get up there?" He yelled.

"I got stuck in the tree and climbed up the inside." She explained. "Do you see a way down?" She asked. Looking around her.

"No! You got stuck in a tree? How?" HE asked, obviously confused.

"I rolled into it." She said by way of explanation. She very carefully stepped onto the branch beneath her, her toes curled around the wide branch before she placed her other foot on it.

"What are you doing?" He shrieked, a very feminine shriek.

"Climbing down." She said, rolling her eyes.

"What? No! Don't due that!" He yelled. She giggled as she descended.

"Then you would have me stay in this tree forever?" She asked, amusement thick on her voice as she resumed climbing down. She tired of slowly climbing and deliberately missed the next branch on her way down. She half slid, half fell a good five feet before she stopped and Ed was yelling something fierce, she turned to look at him.

"What are you _doing?!"_ He yelled, "You _stay put_, I'll figure out a way to get you down, just, stay_!_" he said as he looked around, panicking slightly. Emma sighed and resumed falling and sliding down the tree. She reached the ground with a thud. Looking up she bit her lip to suppress her laughter, he looked somewhat horrified and impressed.

"Hey, how ya doin?" She asked with a smile. He frowned.

"Hmph." Was all he would say for the rest of the morning. She spent most of the time chattering about nothing in particular and he finally turned and looked at her. She smiled prettily at him.

"Do you always babble like this?" He asked and she grinned.

"Only when I'm being ignored."

A/N: Okay, I'm not really into this, so if anyone wants the idea tell me and you can have it, otherwise I'll muddle along!


	4. Raiden

angelo dell'inferno: Brilliant? Hardly, at least I don't think so,. Then again, I am the overly picky author sooo that doesn't help but I'm glad you think so!

**Linnorria**: I loved your review, It helped me think about this, I know this has nothing to do with the Empire but I'm working on something so that I have written down who they are and what they are about so that I know what I'm talking about and Balder who you haven't met yet will explain in the next chapter.

**basest-8**: K, slowing down, well, maybe I think I'm slowing down. Maybe I'm not. I tend to launch head first into plot and don't let you go till the very end, which is a good trick when utilized correctly. You're not the first person to say I move to fast, maybe that's a hint eh?

**Nawat Crow:** Hmm, horse fetish? Or mayhap its more of an obsession? ;)

**Raiden**

It seemed as if the girl never stopped talking. Seriously, he had known some human girls in his time, and yes, they chattered incessantly, but nothing like this. If someone had told him three days ago that today he would be wandering trough the Immortal Forest with a human girl, he would have laughed. If someone had told him that this human girl was the Phoenix, he would have laughed. The Phoenix was supposed to be a strong, powerful woman; this girl did not appear to be any of those things. She was supposed to be able to turn centaurs into _Humans._ A power the gods did not possess, and yet, this girl, barely sixteen, was to be their deliverer.

And that bloody _bird! _It was following them, flying above their heads barely out of reach, she had asked him what it was and he had frowned. It _looked_ like a phoenix, it sounded like a phoenix when it called, light, airy, musical, almost like a flute. But it was silver, therefore he was refraining from telling her it was anything until he spoke with Balder.1

And why, why was he attracted to her? _She's not even my kind._ He thought bitterly, _but she has the ability to change that. _ The calm, still part of him whispered. _That only makes it worse. I'm years, decades older that her. **And still young. **In this world, not in hers. _

His inner battle might have raged all day, had he not realized she was no longer behind him. He turned, intrigued by her sudden urge to rest. Except, she wasn't resting, she was standing, hands propped on her hips in fists, the silver bird resting on her shoulder, preening her hair, a mass of unorganized, probably tangled, still attractive-to him anyway, curls.

"Yes?" He asked calmly, not surprised by her sudden bout of stubbornness. Humans were, are, very _random_ creatures he was learning. Centaurs were not random. Their actions were carefully planned after _years_ of thought. If they were not sure about something, they waited until they were or the problem had taken care of itself through time. They waited because they could, unless something killed them, they simply, lived, forever.

"Question." She said, tipping her head to the side.

"Yes?" He said again, not liking repeating himself.

"Your name isn't Ed is it?" She asked.

"No."

"Then what is it?" She asked.

"Raiden." He said with a not quite audible sigh.

"Thunder and lightning." She said, after a moment. "After the Yamani god I suppose." She said and he nodded. He was surprised that she knew about Raiden, he sounds like a main character, but he had been almost forgotten in the wave of Mithros and the Mother worship.

"Can we move on now?" He asked with a gentle smile.

"No, how do you know that I'm this Phoenix, this savior you speak of?" She asked. _Direct little thing._ He thought before shaking his head.

"I don't." He answered, _I wish Balder had come instead, he knows so much more about this than I do. I should have paid more attention when he told me, but no, I had to be the young buck, go, get the girl, come back, and become a hero, simple! No, dumb, really dumb. It's not that easy, no, I have to deal with a stubborn child._

"Then why waste your time?" She asked, placing her top hat on her head jauntily, she had left the dress but kept the hat, for some odd reason. Really, it was out of habit, a lady never went anywhere without a hat these days, twas a new fashion Princess Aoife 2 had started last season.

"Because I was instructed to." He said quietly, not quiet enough to be called a mutter, Centaurs never muttered, they were above that, or so they liked to think.

"Instructed to!" She yelled, or maybe just said very loudly, loudly enough that her voice echoed throughout the forest. "By whom?" She asked as the wheels in her head began turning. "You orchestrated that whole thing! The bandits, you had them attack us." She said, her voice growing angrier and more violent by the second.

"We did no such thing!" He said hoarsely, Centaurs did not yell, they got eerily quiet. "If you haven't noticed, Centaurs don't exactly rule here. Humans do."

"And I am supposed to change that?" She asked bitterly.

"No." He said with finality.

"Really?" She asked sarcastically. "That was what it sounded like. You spoke of glary and returned honor and riches. Isn't that what one usually speaks of when one wishes to rule?"

Suddenly he was very close to her. "You twist my words lady, I spoke of glory yes, but not in the sense of power. Glory can be thought of as many things, honor and respect can be glory to a scholar, it can be riches and fame to another, glory can come in the form of the immortality of something one works towards. _That_ is the glory of which I spoke.

"Centaurs want nothing but to be recognized as equals. We are alike, Centaurs, Stormwings, Spindrens, we are all of the same race, we are all human in one form or another. We, as Centuars, Stormwings and Spindrens have the ability to become our whole selves, to change between one form and another, if only you will come to understand and help us.

"Sadly enough we want nothing other than acceptance from you. We wish to be whole, to be human. Maybe you don't understand that, maybe you don't want to, but at one point, you _have to."_

1: Balder means 'Prince'

2: Princess Aoife is Prince Roald and Princess Shinkokami's eldest daughter. They assumed the throne twelve years ago when Roald was thirty making them forty two-ish.

**_A/N: _**_Okay, hope that explains things a little more! And Ahhh! I'm off to the next chappie because I have more explaining to do which should make you all happier, I hope!_

_**Natsumi**_


	5. Tunnels

**Natwat Crow: **I'm thrilled, I'm writing this kind of in a ranting mode so there are actually probably going to get lots of those little Ana-definition-thoughts. And chapter three was confusing for me, I should probably do a re-post, eh, it's only a fanfic…

**MistyFox14: **I would have updated much sooner except I was on vacation with absolutely no computer acsess! How cruel and unusual is that?!

**Basest-8: **No seriously, I'm thrilled with your reviews they make me think about what I"m writing and you are completely right about the whole legend thing, I'm working on fixing it. Please keep reviewing in the same form, you help make the story better! Love ya.

_A/n: Okay, the chapter is up late because I was on vacation which, really, was not that much fun, two and a half weeks with no computer and a smelly, horrible, twelve-year-old brother. I am so glad to be back! Read on, Ta!_

**Tunnels **

She froze, he was so close, his eyes were so furious, and she realized instantly what this was about. It was the age-old fight to _belong._ She herself had felt it as a girl, but she had accepted that she would never truly be accepted, and then she had found that she didn't want to be accepted, that acceptance was conformity, and she didn't want to conform. She wanted to be herself to the fullest.

"Is that really what you want?" She asked quietly. "To become the same?" She asked quietly and he hung his head.

"More than anything." He said quietly, _especially now._ He thought before spiraling into the world of mixed emotions. Not five minutes ago he had despised her, now he wanted her again, he was turning into a human, and she had yet to even tap into her magic.

She nodded. "Okay then, which way?" She asked as she stepped back and looked around.

"Here." He said, lifting vines of ivy, revealing a stone passageway, looking at him once she stepped into it and walked down it, He followed her in and the hall lit up with mushrooms that appeared to be glowing faintly, illuminating cracks in the ground. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before continuing. As they traveled, the walls seemed to close in around them, her eyes watered. It was close, cold, damp, and dark, and it was getting smaller. Seconds before she started yelling their path came to an end and Raiden reached around her and lifter a curtain, light flooded the cave and she blinked rapidly before taking in the sight around her.

They were in another cave, this one however, was one hundred thousand times larger however, an entire city was nestled in it quite comfortably, a little snug, but still comfortable. People moved all throughout it, on the upper layers, across stone or wood bridges, some flew, some walked on solid ground, she looked over at Raiden who was watching those on bridges with a skeptical eye, she grinned as he shuddered.

"You don't like heights." She observed quietly as she watched the city life, it was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

"Not at all, it's the whole half horse thing." He said sardonically. She grinned and headed for a set of steep stairs that were cut out of the stone. Raiden pulled her back. "We aren't going into the city." He said, pulling her left along a very narrow path that was open to thin air on one side and a sheer cliff face on the other. Emma watched nervously as Raiden made his way along it carelessly. Taking a deep breath she followed at a much more subdued pace.

He ducked into another hall and turned around carefully before sticking his head out. She was only halfway across the silly girl. "Come on, you won't fall." He called; she merely glared at him and continued her leisurely pace across the thin, eroding, not-really-a-path path. He rolled his eyes; adolescent centaurs could pull that trick without getting too many frowns. As she reached the opening he picked her up by her arms and moved her, she was so _slow_, not slow, _graceful_. Part of him said and the other part maintained that the other had leapt off the deep end.

He reached over and grabbed her bicep, guiding her along the completely dark hall; she stumbled on a loose rock and would have fallen, were it not for his grip on her arm. "Careful now," he said as she steadied herself. She nodded and they moved along. He stopped as they met up with a stone wall, and knocked thrice in succession. Emma raised an eyebrow but refrained from commenting. The wall swung away from them and Emma followed Raiden in, acting as if stone walls moved every day, which they might here, she didn't really know.

"Balder!" Raiden called as he raced through what appeared to be someone's living quarters. Emma was standing near the door on a russet red rug, looking a little sheepish as she examined her surroundings. It was cozy, bookshelves lined the crooked walls, rugs in worn yellow, green, and red covered the stone floors. It wasn't cold like you would expect a cave to be, it was actually quite pleasant. Through the door Raiden had disappeared through, she could see a short wood table and she guessed it was the kitchen.

"She's not harmed?" She heard a deeper, more mature voiced man asked.

"No, would have been if she hadn't gotten off the horse though. Men, bandits, scum of the earth." He said, as if that explained why she had been in trouble. Evidently it was, Balder grunted and entered the room. Emma felt as if she was looking at a king of knowledge, graying brown hair covered his head in a wavy, unruly crown. Dark, knowing blue eyes were set under straight brows, and thin lips accented a strong jaw.

"Ah, hello." She said, hoping her voice didn't sound as timid as she thought it did. Balder frowned and exchanged a look with Raiden, who shrugged in reply.

"Hello, I am Balder. Welcome to Therosis, the only city of the immortals." He said gallantly, Emma smiled and curtsied.

"Thank you."

"I expect Raiden has explained why you're here." He said, bending his legs and lowering himself to the floor in front of the fireplace, Emma shook her head and walked to sit next to him.

"Not well enough no." She said. "What is exactly is the Empire?" She asked directly. He raised his eyebrows and settled back.

"Raiden, will you make tea?" He asked, Raiden frowned then nodded and left the room, she could hear him moving about in the kitchen. He had the look of a grandfather about to tell his grandson a thrilling tale. "The Empire is the fathest country north, we know this for fact because three years ago we sent an envoy of Stormwings there to check. Their buildings are made of steel and glass. If no one has ever explained to you how steel and glass are created it is an extremely difficult process and it drains the land of its value. Entire forests have been cut down, all vegetation burned, the wave of what they call progress has killed their land, so lately the idea has been that they plunder ours."

"Well we can't stop that." She said thoughtfully, "What if we can convince them to go east?" She asked, mind racing. "There are mountains east correct? There is Iron ore in mountains, that would be more beneficial to their 'progress' and the countries are smaller, with less people, easier to conquer." She said, glad she had figured it out so early, but Balder was just shaking his head.

"We cannot pawn them off on some other country." He said stubbornly and she frowned.

"Why not? There is no other solution but to slaughter them, and that, sir, is simply barbaric." She said, standing up and pacing,

"I realize that." He said, just as calmly.

"Then what do you suggest?" She asked, spinning to look at him.

"That we eliminate them." He said sadness in his eyes.

"_We can't **do **that!_ What don't you understand, you cannot kill a group of people, simply because they are doing something you do not like. Maybe their progress is for the better. What do we know? It might be the future, we don't know since we haven't been there to try it out have we? You don't know anything about them except that you don't approve of their progress!" She yelled as Raiden entered the room again.

"It's childish! You have to understand the problem to deal with it properly." Raiden smiled, someone agreed with him. _Someone _understood what he had been trying to explain to Balder all along! The man was the closest thing to a father Raiden had ever had, and he loved him, but sometimes he only saw one solution, and sometimes that solution was not the best.

"I don't think you understand, we have to get rid of them, soon." He said with finality, Emma wasn't falling for that trick.

"Give me two months, I'll go talk with them, figure something else out, if I fail, you can do, whatever you have planned." She said, glaring at him as the moon rose. At the top of the room, a circular hole let light through. Wind traveled down through the opening, spinning around her. Outside, the city grew silent, everyone paused, and then they knew, the phoenix had arrived.

Her eyes grew in brilliance and the color in her hair faded and turned silver, raw, untamed power radiated from her and fear landed in Balder's heart.

"Two months." He said tiredly, he was old, too old to be dealing with teens. They were irrational, impulsive. "Two months _after_ you have control over yourself." He said.

"I am controlling myself." She said with a frown. She hadn't even really yelled yet, what was his problem.

"Your magical control is lacking even if you may be physically in control." He explained. "Raiden, will you show her to her room? I need to sleep." He said as he stood up and walked into the kitchen and disappeared.

"This way Emma." He said, taking her hand and pulling her down a hallway hidden behind a rug. She didn't know about Centaur culture, but in human culture when people hold hands it usually means they care for one another. She knew this was not the case but she felt heat rising in her cheeks anyway. _Ug, _she thought _I'm turning into one of those swoony type girls!_

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_**A/N: **Originally I had this written were Balder and Emma really hate each other and Balder throws her out, but then I decided that that really would not work. Don't you agree? Review, flame, whichever you feel like just give me some kind of feedback please! Love ya, Ta._


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